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Every practitioner who provides tax advice with respect to
the application of a tax Act or completes or assists in completing a return for
the payment of a fee must (by 1 July 2013) be registered with SARS and a
recognised controlling body (which SAIT is) as a tax practitioner.

3. Registration is not limited to a "partner level” if a partner
does not DIRECTLY supervise his/her employee’s work him/herself (SARS’s
interpretation of s240(2)(d)(ii));

4. Individuals who work under a tax practitioner’s DIRECT
supervision, like professional assistants and article clerks, or administrative
support staff who make enquiries on your behalf, need not register and can use
your practitioner number;

5. Partners or members of CC’s cannot use each other’s
practitioner numbers – all must be registered individually.

What is the SARS registration process?

The answer to this
question depends on whether you are:

(a) Not registered as a tax practitioner yet; or

(b) Already registered as a tax practitioner (ie. you have a PR
number).

Practitioners, particularly those at larger firms, are advised to ensure that
all liable staff members have in fact registered individually. Firms or legal
entities cannot register as practitioners – all individuals involved in
providing tax-related advice need to register individually. The only persons at
your firm who can legitimately use your practitioner reference number are
individuals who work under your direct supervision, like professional
assistants and article clerks, or administrative support staff who make
enquiries on your behalf. SARS confirmed that the practical implication is that all tax staff from managerial level and above to partner/director level are required to register.

The practitioner number itself can however only be assigned to one
particular individual. Partners or members in CC’s cannot use each other’s
practitioner numbers, and must all be registered individually.

WHY REGISTER WITH SAIT?

Section 240A of the Tax Administration Act, 2011 (as amended) requires that all tax practitioners register with a recognized controlling body before 1 July 2013. It is a criminal offense to not register with both a recognized controlling body and SARS.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS TO REGISTER

The Act requires that a minimum academic and practical requirments be set to register with a controlling body. Click here for the minimum requirements of SAIT.